Mary Wilson, editor of the Jackson County Advocate newspaper, grew up in the Grandview, Missouri community. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Missouri Press Association, immediate past president of the Grandview Main Street, Inc., serves on the Board of Directors for the Kansas City Press Club, and works as a development coordinator for the Grandview Education Foundation. You can reach her at mwilson@jcadvocate.com, or follow her on twitter @MWilsonJCA.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

For Halloween this year, I imagine a lot of little girls
will be dressed as Elsa from Frozen and other favorite characters, and little
boys will be Ninja Turtles or some other crime-fighting hero. What does my
eight-year-old want to dress as? Not Ironman, nor a cowboy, nor a skeleton.

This year, Michael is going as a pizza delivery guy. The
idea came about during a conversation he was having with his grandpa, and
Michael became excited about the prospect. He said he plans to ring the
doorbells and instead of saying, “Trick-or-Treat,” he will say, “Pizza Guy!”

As I’m writing this, I’m on the hunt for a uniform for him
to wear, along with an empty pizza box he can carry. He anticipates people
putting the candy in the pizza box instead of a bag, for the full effect. I’m
excited to see how it works out for him, and I’ll be sure to include a picture
next week.

He mentioned it would be cool if he could give every house a
pizza, and I told him that would just get too expensive, as the return on the
investment wouldn’t be that great. He also informed me that I’ll need to be
close by with a bag to dump his candy in, as it might get awkward carrying a
heavy box around all night.

I’m excited for my son this year, because Halloween is on a
Friday night. Which means, he can stay out a bit later than he’s been able to
do in the past. He’s excited to make people laugh, and there’s no greater joy
in life than laughing with people. Happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Print is dead. I can read my news online. That’s a great
hobby, but what are you going to do when people don’t read the newspaper
anymore? These are all things that I hear on at least a weekly basis, and a lot
of times they are unwanted opinions from complete strangers. If I truly
believed that people weren’t reading my newspaper, why would I even be here
doing what I love to do?

This week is National Newspaper Week, and though there’s no
parade or celebrations planned, I’m celebrating in my own little way. Being
celebrated in newspaper offices across the country, this week is the 74th year
of honoring newspapers big and small that continue to serve their communities.
I have a passion for serving my community, and I have no plans of going
anywhere anytime soon.

I take what I do seriously, and I thoroughly enjoy every day
that I come to work. I have the opportunity to meet and mingle with some
extraordinary people in our community and beyond. I am humbled to be able to
see and do things that I can then write about and share the experiences with my
favorite audience. I believe wholeheartedly that community newspapers, like the
one you’re reading now, will have a place in our lives for many years to come.

To all the naysayers out there who might not agree with me,
I say, nowhere else can you get the scoop on what’s going on in your city hall
like with Mayor Jones’s column, or stories about local citizens who have a
museum-worth of memorabilia in their garage. We’ll continue to produce the
stories and promote our community for as long as we have readers. We’re not
going anywhere.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed October 6, 1983, just a few days after I was born, as German American Heritage Day, and it was officially commemorated four years later in 1987. This day honors the 300th anniversary of the arrival of 13 German families who established the first German settlement on American soil. This community on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia later came to be known as Germantown.

As a kid, I grew up hearing about Germany from my family. My grandparents met when my grandfather was stationed in Germany, and my dad graduated high school there. Over the years, I became more interested in where my family was from, and I decided to take the language in high school.

As my graduation present, my grandparents funded my trip to visit Germany. I set out with my grandma on the adventure I’d waited my entire life for. With passport in hand, I eagerly jetted off to the familiar, yet unknown.

During my trip, I saw as much of Germany as I could, and even stayed several days in nearby Austria. I had the opportunity to spend some time with a girl who was four years older than I, and she took me to places that young people liked to go to: a swimming pool, a dance club and even McDonald’s. She also took me to a barbecue with her friends. They were fascinated with the way I said things, and I was equally fascinated by them.

I also remember sitting with my grandma in local pubs, while she drank her mulled wine and I sipped on my Coca-Cola with two ice cubes. Just listening to her talk with her cousins and their families was worth the miles. I understood what they were saying more than I thought I would, and I delighted in the fact that they included me in what was going on.

The memories I have with my grandma while over there are priceless. She was completely in her element, and I could tell that she loved sharing her heritage with me. They are memories that I hope to one day share with my own child when he’s old enough to travel there with me.